My lovely DJ
by 3laxx
Summary: Nino Appreciation Week is finally here!
1. Day 1: Music, Film

Nino Lahiffe is such a great character! This week is just right for him!  
So I decided to participate. Let's see where that goes :D

* * *

Nino stared at Alya in surprise, lifting his eyebrows.

"You're serious?"

She shrugged, causing him to lift his eyebrows even higher.

"Well, yeah! That would be so cool, imagine your music as a kinda-… Theme song for the Ladyblog? I think it's a cool idea."

He chuckled, entertained by her idea but not really convinced yet. Creating a theme song for the heroes of Paris? Intriguing, yeah, but should he really try? Maybe they didn't like it! Or maybe he couldn't even get up with something. And everyone would watch it since the half of Paris followed the Ladyblog. And it would also mean he could probably impress Alya a little if he did a good job?

He crossed his arms, flashing a grin.

"Alright, I'll do it.", he finally prompted, his breath hitching at his stupid, stupid love-struck heart that decided for him when her face lit up. She quickly hugged him and squealed, oblivious to the blush creeping up into his cheeks.

"Yes! Let me know when you're done, DJ, I'll make sure to upload it then!"

He nodded, a dreamy smile on his lips and a soft sigh escaping his mouth as she already turned waving him goodbye. He waved back and turned, still on a high from her hug.

The touch of her soft arms tickled on his neck and the feel of her cheek against his lingered for a few more minutes. And just when her hug was just a memory, he knew he was screwed.

Now the song had to be perfect.

* * *

Still. Nothing.

 _Nothing._

He groaned as he let his head fall on his desk once again, his useless brain hurting from trying melodies and composing useless tunes all day. He groaned another time before resting his chin on the surface of his desk, blinking up to his way too bright screen.

Please just let _something_ come up that's even _remotely_ an idea! Normally he didn't have any problems finding new melodies, they just shot into his head and he whistled them until he could either record them or directly write them down to experiment with instruments and basslines.

But now? Nothing! Nothing, not even a little hint of a melody. Not even a single note he could begin with.

 _Wow, way to leave me hanging, brain_ , he thought, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. His mouse mocked him, his screen laughed at him and his opened but empty music program seemed to shake its head at his uselessness.

He finally straightened up again, swiveling in his desk chair around, only to come to a halt on his piano. He hadn't played in ages, he suddenly realized. Searching for inspiration here could only help, huh?

He flipped open the lid and smiled at the familiar feeling of the keys beneath his fingers. He never really learned playing the piano like Adrien did but had always used it to record melodies, to try things out and it had always worked, even without a teacher or piano lessons. Granted, he couldn't play real plays, neither classical nor newer songs but he had never needed it. A piano as a support for his music projects that he usually did on his mixing table and computer had always been great.

He experimentally pushed down a key, silently challenging himself to use this as the first note in his song. Another note followed. No, that was not it. He shouldn't go even higher. This note was already high enough. Maybe lower? He pushed another key, cringing at the disharmony he created. Okay, for real now…

After roughly two hours of experimenting and even more frustration but also moments of success and the long-awaited muse to come to him he had a rough idea of the melody. One brief glance to the clock told him it would be a long night, since it was already shortly before midnight and he wouldn't be able to stop until he at least had a bassline and a few harmonizing background melodies.

* * *

A few days later, the fully edited video with theme song had been uploaded on the Ladyblog. He and Alya had celebrated with coke and pizza, had watched the views go up and he had even received a kiss on the cheek when the official username of Ladybug herself had liked and reblogged the video, tagging it with **#amazing** , Chat Noir's username following her example right away with a **#thank you guys**.

Now, Nino laid sprawled on his bed, grinning up to the ceiling. The video was skyrocketing and he had thousands of downloads on his website. A club he had performed in before had already sent him a mail, asking for him to perform again. The day had been great.

But it was just about to get even greater as someone knocked on his window, here to congratulate him for Alya's and his success.


	2. Day 2: Hero, Villain

Nino breathed through in relief as the heroes all gathered on the screen, all his friends waving their arms around each other for a victorious hug. It was a tradition they had established when the group had grown, when the Akumas had become harder and stronger and when the fist bump between Ladybug and Chat Noir had been too personal to share. They still bumped their fists, exclaiming "Pound it". Queen B and Firena had settled for a high five at first, grinning a hearty "Made it" at each other.

But since everything had become a bit more serious with Hawkmoth on the rise they had extended their rituals to a big hug at the end, reassuring for each of them that the others were still there, alive and well.

The heroes parted and grinned into a few cameras, their arms still staying around each other's waists or shoulders. Chat Noir had his arms around the shoulders of Queen B, mindful of the punch she had received into her side. Chloé would whine about that for days.

His other arm pulled Ladybug closer. Nino bit his lip, studying Marinette's face beneath the mask. Her smile was wrong and her eyebrows were lightly furrowed, not visible for others but very well for Nino. He had seen that look on her many times already.

Adrien didn't smile at all. He nodded at a few cameras but his gaze mostly jumped between his teammates. They'd had a pretty rough fight with that fire akuma and everyone had received a few hits they'd need time to recover from.

Especially Mari. Nino had only briefly seen Adrien's reaction when she had been flung into a wall while detransforming but it must've been pretty bad. He had immediately jumped in and scooped her up, to keep her identity a secret and to care for her. She had only joined the fight at the end again, to cleanse the Akuma.

Nino knew that it heavily weighed down on his best friend. When they got here he probably wouldn't let go of Mari, blaming himself to not have been there for her, to protect her.

His gaze finally broke away from the three superheroes to the fourth, a view he was fearing to see, the one it would hurt the most to inspect. Before he was able to look at Firena though, he had to lean back. His shoulders were hunched and his back already hurt from the tension. He rubbed over his face, pushing his glasses up to his hair, before sighing and putting them back on his nose, trying not to flinch when he finally looked at her.

Firena obviously tried not to lean on Ladybug as she favored one of her legs, a forced grin keeping her expression unyieldingly hard. She always bit back her pain.

Nino folded his hands over his mouth and squished his cheeks a bit when he saw Alya looking down to her leg, obviously a curse falling from her lips. She looked up again, said something to her teammates and they all nodded, waving to the reporters one more time before jumping away, trying to look tough and invincible. But Nino saw it all. How Queen B's hand went to her side, how Chat tried not to bite on his spilt open lip, how Ladybug moved slower and smoother, trying not to let her head get too much agitation and how Firena stumbled everytime she tried not to hit the ground with her injured leg. Nino leant back from his laptop and sighed.

He had ten minutes before his friends would be here and he wanted to have everything ready before they touched down on their balcony. It had been a good idea to move in with the Miraculous team.

They needed him to care for them when they returned from a fight and they needed someone for a few things they just couldn't do while fighting these damn Akumas.

Even if he was the only one without a Miraculous, he was just as much a hero for them as they were for Paris.

He pushed himself out of the chair ad onto his feet, trudged into the kitchen and began putting out various items from the drawers and fridge. A few ice bags for Chloé and Mari, a bandage for Mari and Alya, a few patches for all of them and an antiseptic dressing for Adrien's lip. He rolled his eyes when he inspected the little pile on top of the kitchen counter.

 _I could be an emergency doctor by now_ , he thought to himself.

Then he rearranged the pillows on the couch a bit, carried in the big mattress from Adrien's and Mari's bedroom and put it on the floor so that everybody could lay down. Just as he was done spreading towels over the mattress and couch so that they wouldn't bleed on anything he heard the first feet touching down on the balcony. His best friend groaned and Nino rushed out, seeing the other three following Chat, slowly and shaky but all of them alive. He wordlessly led his best friend in and laid him down on the mattress as Queen B arrived, a little lighter on her feet but nonetheless not as elegant as they managed when they were uninjured. Nino didn't step out to the balcony anymore knowing Chloé didn't like it when he got too touchy with her. He felt her take his hand and pulled her in, helping her lay down on one side of the couch. She just nodded in thanks and he smiled, placing an ice bag on her side before she could say anything, silently thanking himself to have put the ice bags on the coffee table in the living room before they had arrived. Just about a minute later, Ladybug fell down onto the balcony with a yelp. Nino gave Adrien, who had detransformed by now, a warning glare as he tried to sit up for his fiancé.

He ran out, scooping Mari up in his arms and carrying her in to lay her down next to Adrien. She was already unconscious from the rough landing on their balcony and Adrien immediately rolled over, trying to wake her up again.

Nino nodded at the three, then he stepped out again, his eyes searching for Alya. He found her on a roof further down the street from him, holding her leg with a contorted face. He didn't want to attract the attention of the people down on the street so he simply waited until she'd look over, then he waved as soon as their gazes met. She nodded, stood up and began limping down the street on the roof before taking another little break across from him. He smiled at her and stretched out his arms, ready to catch her.

Their wordless communication worked since Alya collected all her strength to get up again and jump over the street, onto the balcony.

Nino quickly caught her in his arms and took the brunt of the hit against the house wall with his back, concentrating on holding her up high enough so she wouldn't have to stand on her leg. She sniffled and buried her face in the shirt on his shoulder, obviously trying to stay strong for him.

He pressed a kiss to her hair before scooping her up, mindful of her injured leg, and carried her inside. An orange flash shooting up her body momentarily blinded him and then she groaned, the protective layer of her suit now gone. He laid her down on the other side of the couch and walked back into the kitchen to get all the other medical supplies.

While he had been out of the room Marinette had woken up again and Adrien had handed her an ice bag, pressing it against the side of her head.

"Put your lip against it, too, dude.", Nino instructed him without even looking, directing his steps to Chloé. Adrien obeyed and sighed in relief, as his burst and swollen lip finally cooled down, taking a bit of the pain.

Nino pulled up Chloé's shirt and winced at the gash that appeared beneath the soaked through fabric, quickly lifting her up to put two harder cushions beneath her lower and upper back to be able to bandage it. He cleaned the wound and she cried up, smacking his arm but he didn't mind. It must be painful so she was allowed to do that. When he put the soothing bandage on, applying just enough pressure to make her feel better, she apologized for smacking him by wounding her arms around his neck and leaning her head against his arm. He smiled as he gently pulled out the cushions and placed a wet washcloth on her forehead, brushing over her shoulder. Chloé nodded and managed a smile before he went over to Alya.

Her knee had apparently been twisted a bit too far which caused the pain so he just needed to straighten it out and ice it, which caused a small yelp from her. He quickly kissed her to make it up to her and she managed a weak thank you before trying to relax again.

For Mari he couldn't do much except bandaging her head and letting Adrien hold the ice bag for Nino to include it in the bandage so it would stay in place. Then he got to bandaging Adrien's lip, for which he just wrapped the antiseptic dressing pad around his lip and instructed him to hold it there until the bleeding stopped.

After the biggest injuries were taken care of he repeated his circle, putting on plasters where they needed it, then he kneeled down in front of Alya and began brushing through her hair. With a brief control glance to the Kwami's who had cuddled up on the coffee table on a pillow, bowls with their respective food in standing around them, his job was done.

Trixx yawned and curled tighter around Plagg, a carrot piece very slowly vanishing between her tiny fangs. Plagg nibbled on a piece of camembert and, as the most awake of all of them, surprisingly, watched over Tikki who preferred sleeping to eating for now. Pollen rested her head on Tikki's little paw, having her eyes closed but still trying to reach out for her bowl of popcorn. Nino handed her a popcorn and she silently thanked him, causing a smile on his face.

He waited until all of his friends and Kwamis had slipped off to sleep, then he got up to control their injuries again before spreading blankets over their exhausted, prone bodies.

Then he settled down next to Alya, softly lifting her head to rest it on his lap, before turning on his music system in the room to put on something quiet and relaxing.

Chloé sighed in her sleep, wanting to turn over but with a gentle hand he reached over and held her shoulder down, not that she would roll onto her injury and wake up again.

Adrien pushed his face closer to Marinette's neck, breathing through as he slipped deeper into a well owned sleep. Mari stayed still, except her hand that had somehow found its way into his hair, that was softly and lazily scratching the back of his head before stopping again. Her face twitched in her sleep but otherwise she was calm.

Nino smiled at his friends before looking down to Alya, his hand buried in her hair to gently keep her head in place. Her sleeping face looked so peaceful and relaxed. He bent down to kiss her forehead, falling in love all over again at her serene expression.

A piano tune sounded through the room, just loud enough to be heard but quiet enough to let them rest. Nino leant back after sending another reassuring glance towards the Kwamis who were all sleeping on the pillow he had prepared for them. He smiled and closed his eyes, his hand in Alya's hair beginning to brush through the thick brown curls.

 _A hero doesn't need to be out and save the whole world_ , Master Fu had once told him, _a true hero can also rise up through being there for others in little things_.

It had taken a while for Nino to understand that but when he looked at the relaxed faces of his friends he knew exactly what Master Fu had been talking about.

And just when his eyes slid closed, a green Kwami across the city was put to sleep as well, ready to be handed over to a new master.

Ready to end it all with a new hero.


	3. Day 3: Favorite Ship

This was supposed to go in a fluffier direction? Or at least funny? Why am I like this?

* * *

Nino had always been a man for rules.

He didn't like breaking them. It gave him a weird feeling.

Okay, well, staying out for longer than he was supposed to, sometimes not following the school code to the book, testing out his limits in family and school rules, that of course. That was normal.

But as soon as it became legally conflicting, he had never tried circumventing them.

Not even when he got to know Alya closer.

She had never really cared for all that. Her principles said that if there was the right will, there would be a way, with or without rules. She did have a point sometimes. For example, the French revolution would've never taken place if everybody had followed the rules.

But Nino's life had never been a French revolution. He had always been more of a calm guy.

Alya's life had always been a French revolution and yes, pun intended. In fact, that was her name in his contacts. She always went up against her parents if she didn't see any sense in their opinions but was easily convinced when she got a few logical reasons. Must've been the reporter in her.

She also didn't really care whether there was a stop sign, a threat that parents were responsible for their children or a policeman telling her to stay back.

When she wanted something, she got wound up in it until she got it. If that included sneaking around an obstacle, running head first against it or climb or convince or anything, she was all for it.

A fire escape ladder, marked with a sign that she definitely shouldn't climb up? _Nino, c'mere and help me up_. A policeman standing behind a road block to keep citizens safe from the Akuma attack? _Nino, go over there and distract them_. Both of Paris' superheroes telling her to stay safe, stay away, stay out of the line _and for the love of god_ , do _not_ run _right_ in, okay? _Eh, they don't mean it like that_.

Nino had long since given up on trying to reason with her. If her idol, Ladybug, was telling her to stay out of fights and her best friend, Marinette, was pleading her under tears to please stay safe wasn't working, what would his voice matter to her?

He wasn't a significant part in her life, at least he never noticed her appreciating him for more than helping her edit her videos and running with her to play the distraction for policeman who already knew most of her tricks and were slowly getting fed up with her antics. Alya and her stubbornness were widely known within the police and half of Paris, thanks to her Ladyblog.

Nino didn't really mind, though. If he didn't have to go with her, he would be fine with it.

Yes, he always worried for her, that was not a question. But since Paris had gotten used to the frequent Akuma attacks and since he was pretty sure that nothing would develop from that day in the cage because she just didn't seem interested in him even if he felt like he could never look at another girl like he looked at her ever again.

So he just settled with following her along like a love sick puppy, giving her the hearty eyes when she wasn't looking and helping her achieve her dreams with not necessarily legal methods.

Well, what more could he do?

He tried to keep her safe and made sure nothing would happen to her, even if that meant getting the cold shoulder from her for a week. Even if that meant taking a hit for her.

Well, as long as there was no policeman telling him to stay away from the fight. If she just ran in without breaking any rules he would unwillingly follow her to keep her safe but as soon as it meant sneaking around a road block or something, he was out. Then he would tremble for her safety but he would stay back and watch.

Just not this time.

Nino had always been a man for rules but when he saw Alya getting hit with an arrow he couldn't follow the rules anymore.

Damn the rules. There are no rules for love.

With a big jump he was over the road block of the police, the waist-high plastic fences they always used for Akuma attacks. He didn't even notice how much that went against his principles. All he realized was that Alya was falling, the arrow still sticking out of her chest.

A policeman tried to step in his way but Nino pushed him away, causing him to stumble back. Alya's head hit the ground and he ran towards the battle, without hesitating, without thinking about rules.

Nino fell on his knees beside her quickly pressing his hands around the arrow that impaled her beside her heart. He didn't know much about the human body because biology had never really been his strongest subject but he assumed it must've hit her lung.

He cursed as something warm, slick let one of his hands slip off her chest but he immediately put it back to the wound. He knew the arrow had to stay inside, to seal off the wound.

Her phone laid forgotten on the ground a bit away, the display scratched and still recording. Her breaths were quick and desperate and her eyes squinted. Nino didn't even realize he was screaming. He didn't even realize he was doing anything else than trying to keep the blood inside.

While his voice quickly became hoarse from screaming that didn't reach his ear Ladybug landed beside them. He looked up, his vision blurred by his tears that he didn't know had collected in his eyes, his face contorted in pain and fear. Ladybug was shocked, obviously. Her face was white, as far as he could see through the teardrops on the inside of his glasses, and her eyes widely opened. Just as he was about to yell at her, to command her to get back to fighting, to save Alya, Chat landed next to her, handing her a bow.

The bow, Nino understood. The bow that had shot that arrow.

He looked down to Alya again, watching her struggle to breathe, watching her fight with death. Ladybug had to hurry.

Nino looked up again, seeing Chat urgently talking to Ladybug who was frozen in place, and Nino snapped. He jumped up, ripped the bow from Chat's hands and broke it over his knee, desperate to finally let Ladybug free her cleansing light. She had to save Alya, why did she just stand around like that?!

The Akuma fluttered out but before it could escape, Nino grabbed it out of the air, feeling the oddly cold, magical animal flutter in the cage of his hand. He then held his hand out to the superheroes, gritting his teeth while sounds slowly came back to him. While his ears cleared up, as did his mind.

"… Save her-…", he managed, barely, "… Save her, please…!"

Ladybug unhooked her yo-yo, caught the Akuma and purified it as Nino let it go, then she threw something up that Chat had handed her. Nino thought to have seen a little, bent key but he wasn't sure. The cleansing light shot out of the lucky charm as she threw it up with her signature phrase, but instead of shouting it she barely managed a whisper.

With a breeze of magic, his hands suddenly were clean again. He turned around and heard the most relieving sound he had ever heard.

A gasp. Small, weak and surprised but it was a sign of life.

He stumbled towards Alya while the world around him was built up again. While his world was becoming whole again when he had feared he would lose it forever. Lose her forever.

With a loud sigh he dropped down to his knees on either side of her lap and hugged her tightly, pressing his head into her hair. She was breathing again. There was no arrow.

She was back.

He sobbed as he felt her wind her arms around him, tightly hugging him back.

In that moment he realized she did appreciate him for more than just editing her videos and playing the distraction. He realized that he had always been more than that. Because she told him.

"… I love you…", the words fell from her lips and against his neck where she hid her face, "… I love you, I love you…"

Nino pressed her tighter against his chest, nodding weakly.

"… I love you, too…", he murmured, his voice strained from sobs and hoarse from screaming.

* * *

Nino had always been a man for rules.

He had always followed them.

And he had one rule to follow. Exactly one single rule for himself.

If it's about love, there is no room for rules.


	4. Day 3: Favorite Ship (take 2)

Okay okay hear me out.  
I couldn't let that day go by with an angsty prompt. I couldn't!  
So I wrote a take 2 and such a fluffy one :D To make up for it!

* * *

"We need to talk.", Firena snapped at him when Ladybug cleansed the Akuma. Carapace just barely managed sharing a high five with Chat Noir before the angry fox girl already pulled him away, probably ready to eat him alive. Wasn't there something on the fox being the natural enemy to the turtle? Damn…

He turned in her grip, nodding to reassure her he'd follow and only then she let go of his collar, letting him jump on his own. He gulped as he observed her agile form run in front of him, already thinking about a thousand ways to flee the country, as she suddenly stopped and turned to him again, growling at him.

"Are you freaking serious?!"

He held up his hands and looked around, making sure she meant him. Then he shrugged helplessly.

"I-… I guess this is the moment where I reveal that I'm the true supervillain…?"

Firena rolled her eyes and stomped to the other side of the roof, probably scaring the people who lived underneath them, before turning to him again.

"C, don't make me do this."

"What?", he asked, probably a little sharper than wanted.

"Just-… C'mon, how could you-… And-… And all this time you made me crazy by being the one and then the other and I thought you were two and I found myself in this ridiculous situation Adrien and Mari were in and when I finally understood I realized how stupid this all was and-… And-… Gaaaah!"

She buried her face in her hands and breathed through, shaking her head.

"Just-… Just why…?"

Carapace tilted his head and carefully approached his teammate, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Her ears jumped from laid to the side of her head straight up again and she peeked through her fingers.

"Fi, what's up? What's happening?"

She just groaned and squinted her eyes again, turning away.

"Now it's so _obvious_ …"

"What's obvious?", he asked, slowly getting fed up with her antics. She'd always been a little too much on the dramatic side, in his opinion.

Suddenly she straightened up again and before he knew it she jabbed her index finger on his chest, forcing him back.

"You're unfair. You made me get to know both your sides and almost made me choose. You confused me!"

He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, feeling his mask shifting on his face.

"You're confusing me right now!", he shot right back, now straightening up again but without taking a step back, glaring at her.

"Well, you confused me first!"

"And you're making no sense!"

"Oh I'm not making any sense now?! How about you, mister I'll-make-the-same-girl-fall-twice-for-me?!"

"What?!", he huffed, now even leaning in so their faces were even closer, "Fi, you're rambling – as always – and I don't have time for this. I'm down to one square on my shell and I need to get going so if you have anything of value to say, please _go ahead_!"

"C, you're unbearable!"

"Right back at you!"

"Fine!", she snapped, finally taking a step back, tightly crossing her arms over her chest, " _Trixx, fangs in!_ "

His eyes widened as an orange flashing light washed over her, revealing her civilian self. He was just about to turn away and yell Ladybug's rules at her but he recognized these sneakers. The blue jeans, the orange shirt. The glasses. _The eyes_.

"… A-Alya…?"

She held her nose up, pressing her lips together as she wordlessly handed her Kwami, apparently Trixx, a piece of a carrot.

"Oh yeah, _now_ you're nice.", she forced out, her stance staying defensive.

Nino didn't even hear the beeping noise as his transformation fell away in a green flash, revealing his civilian form along with his Kwami who immediately got tackled by her Kwami, causing Wayzz to lay on the roof cuddling with the fox Kwami.

"… Y-You're-…", he stammered, readjusting his glasses, "… You-… And-…"

"Oh _puh_ -lease, shelly, you've scolded me so many times in my superhero form, now you're suddenly at a loss for words? You're always the rules loving guy. _Why_ did you try to figure me out, Alya?!", she mockingly imitated him. Or it seemed like that was her goal since it was a very bad imitation, " _Why_ didn't you try to just let things be, Alya?! _Why_ do you have to be so rash, Alya?! We're not allowed to _reveal our identities_ , Alya, Ladybug said so! What's _wrong_ with you, Al-"

"I'm so sorry!", he involuntarily blurted out, slapping his hands on his mouth as soon as she made eye contact again, "I-…"

He sighed, then mumbled into his hands, a blush creeping up on his face.

"I wanted-… And-… And I didn't-… I'm sorry for-… For visiting you and-… And such…"

She groaned, shaking her head but not looking away.

"Oh now you're stammering? Now? Of course. As the turtle superhero it's so easy to be loud, to talk with me and not notice you're driving me crazy and I'm not even listening to you but as Nino you stand there and do nothing and all you manage is stammering an apolo-"

He didn't even know what caused him to bolt forward. Maybe the implied bet that he wouldn't be able to do anything. Maybe the ultimate desire to make her shut up. Or maybe-… Maybe to feel her. To feel it's real. To know it's been her all along.

It was meant to be a hug. He'd swear that to Adrien this evening, he'd swear on his life that it was only meant as a hug, but in the last moment he decided differently and let his lips crash against hers.

He felt her stiffen in his tight embrace but soon she relaxed, melting against him and snaking one of her arms around his waist while her other hand found its way into his hair.

His knees felt like they could give way at any second so he breathlessly and very unwillingly parted from her, his glasses crooked and his cap somewhere behind him on the roof, flicked from his head at his sudden movement.

"… It-… It was you-…", he sighed, gently brushing a lost strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear, smiling, "Gosh, I was so worried I was wrong…"

Her expression shifted from dreamy to skeptical but her eyes danced in joy and her breath came close to a giggle.

"You tried to figure me out? Really?"

He shrugged.

"Well, what can I say? There are only so many girls in Paris with such an annoying personality and flaming eyes like you around."

She laughed heartily and gently smacked his arm, her eyes briefly jumping to his lips and back up again.

"You say it as if it was something bad."

He tried to stray serious to tease her, he really tried, but he couldn't suppress the chuckle that was working its way up in his throat.

"It's not, definitely not. I love it.", he blushed as he spoke out loud what he had always thought over the past months, "Uh-… S-Sorry… A little too early to say that, huh?"

She giggled, shook her head and gave him a little peck on his lips, grinning widely.

"I think we danced around each other for long enough. How long now? A few months at least, since I became Firena."

He laughed and leant his forehead against hers, keeping her close to his chest.

"Yeah, I think so. So you think it's alright to say I love you since we apparently could've been together for way too long already?"

She nodded and since their forehead still leant against each other he moved his head along with her, causing him to laugh even more.

"Yeah, definitely. I, for my part, can absolutely confirm that I love y-AAAAH!", at that she let out a loud scream, startling Nino so hard he actually jumped away. She quickly pressed her now empty hands over her mouth, obviously not having meant to scream that loudly.

They both looked at each other for a few moments, both having their eyes widened in shock, before he snorted, beginning to chuckle.

"What was that?", he teased, not even trying to suppress his smug grin.

"N-Nuthin'…", she mumbled, her face changing into a deeper shade of red the longer the scream laid back.

"I didn't quite hear you.", he sang, pulling her into his arms again and kissing her forehead, laughing heartily.

"Oh shuddup, you know how foxes wo-", her eyes widened in realization, "TRIXX, MOVE YOUR ASS HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"Uh-oh."


	5. Day 4: Nino vs

How, okay, how could I not make this angsty?  
Yep, couldn't. Sorry. Will maybe upload another funnier one later today x)

* * *

Another hit sent him flying.

It pressed all the air out of his lungs and he wheezed, just before slamming into a wall. His body slumped as he fell onto the sidewalk, coughing and feeling his vision fade. Someone yelled his name, his superhero name, as he slowly forced himself up to all four again.

It had been a warning, as he realized just a moment later.

"Carapace, watch out!", Ladybug cried a second time as the Akuma kicked his side, letting him hit the wall another time.

He groaned in pain, just so shaking his head to clear his vision before a hand grabbed his neck and forced him up. He could only speak of luck that the Akuma wasn't able to lift him off his feet since she was smaller than him. But he had underestimated her strength.

The hand on his neck mercilessly cut off his breathing. He tried clawing the hand away but his body gave up on him. Just as his arms got heavy, his vision faded over to black and his knees gave way, he felt someone remove the pressure. He gasped and desperately breathed in while falling to his knees, feeling his fingers and feet prickling as his blood flowed faster again.

When his eyes slowly began to function again he lifted his head, seeing Ladybug fighting off the Akuma, leading her away from him. Chat Noir jumped to her side, trying his luck as well but she was too strong to be overwhelmed by them.

With a swift motion Chat cried out and stumbled away, holding his cheek as something red coated the black material of his suit. It wasn't the first claw mark she had left on the three superheroes.

Carapace waited until he was able to stand again, then he got to his feet and breathed through.

He had to stand tall.

He had to hold out.

He was the guardian, he was the protector.

With a wave of adrenaline pumping through his veins he lunged at the fight again, swinging his shield at the Akuma. He hit her on the side of her head and grabbed Ladybug's lucky charm from her hands, a red and black dotted shoelace. While the Akuma still laid on the floor he quickly grabbed her hands, tying them together behind her back to restrain her deadly claws.

Carnivora beneath him tried to snap at him with her fangs, hissing and writhing in his tight hold.

He bit his lip and forced her on her stomach, feeling her growl when he pressed a knee on her back to hold her down. Her claws scraped his wrists but didn't do any damage since he held her hands down. If she would try to lash out she'd hit herself. A violet outline of a butterfly appeared around her mask and she stilled before fighting even harder, trying to free herself.

"Where's her boomerang?!", Ladybug cried out, having searched for it on Carnivora's body and the floor around her. Carapace gritted his teeth, concentrating on not letting her go.

"I-… Dunno…", he finally forced out, "… Maybe-… Lost it-… Earlier…"

Carnivora once again reared up beneath him but he slammed her down again, already feeling his strength fading. Ladybug had gotten up and ran towards Chat, urging him to search for the boomerang the AKuma must've dropped.

They jumped away, tracking their fight back to search for the akumatized object. Carapace groaned as the Akuma once again tried to escape.

"Stop it-… You lost!", he huffed, now placing his second knee further away to hold his balance but put more of his body weight on her. He didn't want to force her completely with his strength the Miraculous gave him. He didn't get used to that yet and feared he'd crush her so he mostly depended on his grip and weight to keep her captured.

"… Never!", she hissed at him, still writhing, trying a spin to throw him off but he wouldn't loosen his grip.

"Then-… Give-… Up!", he yelled in frustration when she managed to scratch his wrist, cutting through the suit. Luckily only the fabric.

She briefly stilled to catch her breath before trying to pull up her knees but he gave her a push down so she was immobile for a moment.

"… N-No!", she growled, baring her fangs and once again trying to bite him but he leant away before pushing down again, "I-… I gotta avenge-… He's-…"

"Avenge what?! What?!"

"Him!"

Carapace's expression hardened and he squeezed her wrists tighter, causing a yelp from her.

"Who, him?", he tried keeping her busy with talking so she wouldn't fight as grimly.

"My-… My boyfriend-… He-… G-Got killed today-… With the first-… Akuma attack…! I gotta-… Avenge him!"

He narrowed his eyes, loosening his grip in surprise as he processed this. Firena had a boyfriend…?

She got one claw out and lashed at him, scratching him across his forehead. Blood dribbled over his mask, making its way over his goggles.

He yelped and fell back, letting her go so she could easily pounce on him. His head slammed down on the concrete of the street as she propped her elbow up on his neck, pinning him down beneath him and lifting her free hand to strike him.

"You're not gonna stand in the way of my revenge!", she forced through her clenched teeth, lifting her hand higher. He choked and tried pushing her away but two Akuma attacks on one day, directly following each other, had taken a toll on him.

"I'm gonna-", suddenly, a black cloud of magic began bubbling up on her feet. Her eyes widened and she screeched, staring at her hand in horror. A normal hand appeared as the magic shot down her arm, revealing her dark, caramel skin. To Carapace's luck, her claws had disappeared as the first thing, saving his life.

The magic washed over her body and lastly, her face, revealing a shocked and very desperate girl that he knew very well. She lifted her elbow from his neck and still stared at her hands, her expression terrified and her eyes filling up with tears.

"A-Alya-…?", he croaked, sitting up as she scrambled away from him.

"Y-You know me?!"

He gently nodded, his eyes not leaving hers as he got to his knees. The Miraculous cure fluttered around them and build up everything she destroyed. The cuts and bruises she had inflicted healed and he could breathe a lot easier again.

"Alya-… It's-… It's me…", he gulped, stretching out a hand to place it on her shoulder, " _Wayzz, shields down_."

A green flash suddenly let Nino kneel on Carapace's place, his golden eyes soft and his body unscathed. Her eyes widened and she gasped before surging forward and tightly hugging him.

"You're-… You're alive-… When you vanished behind that building this morning I thought I lost you-… But you're-… You're here…", she whispered unbelievingly, tightly hiding her face on his neck.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…", he mumbled, pressing a reassuring kiss to her temple before burying his nose in her hair, "I had to go to transform… I'm so sorry…"

He felt her sob and held her tighter against him, falling back so he could pull her into his lap.

"But I'm here…", he finally whispered, brushing over her back, "I'm here for you…"

"Promise?", she sniffled.

He smiled and nodded as she leant back, softly kissing her cheek.

"Promise."


	6. Day 5: Family

Nino sighed as he stared out into the night.

He just had to explain to his parents why his grades have been dropping and trying to explain that without telling them he was one of five superheroes of Paris had been-… Straining, to say the least. But luckily he didn't have to explain that to his girlfriend, Alya, or his other friends.

He lowered his head, still trying to calm down, still trying not to be too upset. His parents couldn't understand but they didn't know that. He had to be lenient with them.

The reveal had helped a lot. Like this he and his friends could cover up each other if necessary. Chloé always had good excuses for them to use. And it had also been lucky that Alya and he had received their Miraculous at the same time so that they didn't have fights about one leaving the other alone too often.

They had more than often mutually ditched a date, only to come back to find the other just as messed up and exhausted as themselves. And it had almost always ended in them agreeing to end the date without even entering the café but to cuddle up on one of their beds, whoever's home was closer, to either exchange soft mumbling, loving kisses that held so much more than they both had told each other and mostly, falling asleep together.

And it had definitely been a good thing that Adrien and Marinette had only started dating after their reveal. Otherwise Nino, Alya and Chloé would've been forced to witness awkwardness with which they could've started a cringe party on a public street. Like this it was all fluffy between their friends – which was another topic Nino wasn't so sure of. He seriously contemplated whether he would've rather had cringing at their awkwardness or getting diabetes at their current sickeningly sweet interactions.

Well… At least they knew how to get his thought wandering after a fight. Even if they didn't know about it. He chuckled to himself, propping himself up on the railing of his balcony with his elbows, smiling softly.

Just what did he get himself into…? With being the guardian of the Miraculous, getting trained to take Master Fu's place and probably live longer than all the people he knew… Damn.

That was a lot to swallow, understandable that his grades had dropped with all that responsibility, training and the Akuma fights.

Only that his parents couldn't know. Nobody except his friends could know.

Wayzz now gently floated up to him out of his room, still chewing on a sunflower seed.

"Are you feeling alright, Master?"

Nino chuckled to that, holding out his hand so that the Kwami could sit down on his palm.

"I can probably stop trying to get you to not call me that?"

The Kwami grinned as a response but worry waved through his expression once again, then he placed a little paw on his thumb tip.

"It'll get better, Nino. Promise, it will. I have been with so many holders over the years now and it's always been fine in the end."

"… Even with those who died in battle?", Nino finally asked, speaking out the other big weight on his heart. The Kwami smiled softly, nodding reassuringly.

"Yes. Because they all knew what they fought for."

Nino sighed heavily, looking up again to see the lights illuminating the streets of Paris and a few last citizens heading home in this late hour.

"… I don't…", he finally found himself whispering, "… I-… I don't know…"

Wayzz stayed silent for a few moments but before he could react in any way, he looked up and already smiled. Nino furrowed his eyebrows at this odd reaction from the Kwami but as soon as a pair of feet set down on his balcony, soft and elegant as only a carnivore could manage, he knew why. Before he could turn around a smaller body leant against him and a pair of arms wound around his waist. He chuckled and kept his elbow with the hand in which Wayzz sat on the railing while the other joined the hug, brushing over the familiar spandex they all wore.

"Hey, what're you doing here?", he asked as she finally let him turn around, receiving a little kiss from the fox superhero.

"I dunno…", she murmured, staying close to him as he wrapped his second arm around her, Wayzz settling down on the tiny table in a corner, "… Doing patrol and felt like dropping by."

He hummed and kissed her a second time, gently rubbing his nose on hers as he tilted his head the other way.

"Well, I'm flattered. So you just came to get a bit of cuddling and a few kisses, huh?"

He felt her grin against his lips and couldn't quite hide a grin on his own, causing their teeth to gently click together.

"Yeah… And to make you feel better. I assumed your parents saw the literature exam by now, huh?"

He sighed, locking his arms tighter around her as she dropped her transformation, giving her little kisses to encourage himself.

"I had to tell them, so better now than tomorrow…"

"Figured.", she mumbled and absentmindedly searched for her little purse Marinette had crafted her for Trixx to get some carrots but Nino was faster, opening the small purse similar to Mari's just that it was designed after Lady Wifi, black and with a white Wifi symbol on both sides. Alya nodded gratefully and then scowled until Trixx unwillingly thanked him for the carrots he handed her. Nino laughed and playfully rubbed his nose on her cheek.

"You're a mom friend, you know that? Tryna educate a goddess who's thousands of years old."

"Well, if she never bothered to learn manners in her long life she just has to endure that."

Wayzz snickered and Nino held out a finger, feeling his buddy giving him a high-five. Or, well, high-one since Wayzz only had a paw and Nino used a finger.

Just a few minutes of silence later he heard other footsteps, coming from above as well. He jokingly gasped and softly smacked Alya's shoulder, not even bothering to open his eyes as she giggled.

"You called the entire squad? Alya, I'm not some kinda charity case for superheroes to care for."

"The first accusation may be true, you're not a charity case.", she admitted while Ladybug and Chat Noir landed on the small balcony, closely followed by Queen B, "But we all care for you. As friends."

Queen B psh'ed as she dropped her transformation, joining the hug after Adrien and Marinette.

"Yeah but we're here regardless, loser. So get over it."

Nino grinned as he felt them all gather around him, hugging him tightly.

"No…", he whispered, "As a family."

And suddenly he knew, what he was fighting for.

And he was certain, he would be fine, even if he died in battle.

Because he had his friends with him. His family.

His home.


	7. Day 6: Aged-up Nino

This one could kinda count as family as well but since I went with the "friends are the family you choose"-theme I decided I could use the family theme for Aged-up Nino as well ;)

* * *

"Papa!", the little girl shouted as she came running out of the room where her group stayed in the kindergarten and jumped to fall around his neck. Nino chuckled and straightened up again, wrapping his arms around the little girl on his arms, his youngest child – still.

"Hey, Élodie, how are you! How was your day?"

The girl giggled and began telling him some stories about her playing time and one from lunch, where another girl had given her something from her box, while they began walking back home.

Nino grinned and listened to her while she completely exaggerated on a story which she played with her two friends, something epic about horses that turn to unicorns and can fly around and save others.

He walked bent down to hold her hand and his back ached but he didn't mind. It was more important to him that his little girl walked home instead of being carried. He stopped at a light and laughed at another story she told him.

"And what did Dominic do then, when you stole his ball?"

"He ran after me and we played tag, you're it! And then we played with the ball and the garage door was the target and-"

"It's green, pumpkin.", he interrupted her with a loving grin, knowing his daughter wouldn't mind him interrupting her. She eagerly continued talking about the story as they walked over the street, closing in on their home at the other side of the street. Nino pulled out his keys and came to a stop in front of the house door, unlocking it so they could enter.

Élodie immediately ran past him and up the stairs to knock on their front door. He laughed as he called after his daughter while getting their mail before following her up.

"Élodie, I have a key! You know Maman shouldn't stand u-", a door opened and he rolled his eyes as he heard the little girl squeal again.

"Maman!"

"Hello, sweets! How was your day?"

Nino jokingly groaned as he finally reached their door as well, watching the toddler tightly hug Alya's leg while she grinned at him.

"I just heard all of that! Mercy!", he said with a smirk, ruffling through Élodie's hair before kissing Alya and placing a hand on her stomach, "The doctor said you shouldn't get up too much."

While his voice was still cheerful and his grin stayed on his lips worry waved through it nonetheless. It had been a little more complicated pregnancy and now that Alya was almost due he was a little on edge whenever she did something against the doctor's recommendations. She just huffed against his lips and shook her head, reassuringly brushing over his arm.

"It's just a short walk and you know I'm not made out of sugar, I can handle it."

With that she gently nudged Élodie's head to let her walk inside and followed the toddler, letting Nino shut the door with a smirk on his face and a light shake of his head. He stepped into the living room after them and set down his bag as well as Élodie's small backpack for kindergarten, watching Alya sitting down on the couch with her daughter to listen to her stories. He chuckled and turned around to walk to the kitchen, getting to prepare a dinner for all of them. However, when he got there he noticed a cutting board with a few carrots and sausages already cut down to small pieces and a pot on the stove, on a low setting.

"Alya?", he called, crossing his arms.

"Yeah?", she replied after a short pause to shush Élodie for a moment.

"Did you cook?"

He heard his girls giggling before she threw back a cheeky answer.

"But didn't finish!"

He rolled his eyes and lifted the lid of the pot, smelling the delicious potato soup that she had mastered over the years, along with quite a few other recipes. Definitely had its perks to have a professional cook as a mother-in-law.

So he got to finishing it, even if he didn't have to do much more. She had already almost finished it, safe for the carrots and sausages to put them into the soup and finish it off with a little seasoning.

Just when he picked up the pepper he heard the door open and grinned, quickly running out before Alya had the chance to greet their oldest one, their son.

"Hey Papa.", Matthieu exclaimed as he kicked off his shoes and put down his colorful backpack, blue with sharks on it. The boy had been so proud when he had presented his new backpack for second grade last week.

Nino grinned broadly and offered a fist bump to which his son replied with a hug. And as always, he found himself relieved his little boy still wanted to hug.

Just then he heard Alya get up again and quickly let go of Matthieu to greet his Maman before she could get far. Nino knew Alya was stubborn but he was so even more and he was maybe a tiny bit overprotective.

His son bolted off and he heard the couch cushions rustle again as Alya laughed, sitting down. He smiled and nodded, then got back to the soup to finish it and put it on the table.

* * *

After dinner and after bringing Matthieu and Élodie to bed when they had watched the evenly episode of their favorite show, Nino and Alya settled down on the couch to let the evening slowly end. Nino had grabbed a water for them both, firmly pulling through with no alcohol for both of them. Well, it was obvious for Alya not to drink but as soon as she had told him she was pregnant he had stopped drinking as well, because of solidarity.

Alya giggled when he took a sip just as the opening of a crime movie played.

"You know you don't have to do this.", she prompted but he surprised her with a kiss.

"What, so I have to quit kissing you? For nothing, angel, ever."

She laughed and lightly smacked his chest before leaning against him, shaking her head.

"Even then it'd do nothing. But I'm actually a bit glad you're not drinking as well."

He merely shrugged, watching as the movie began with a young man running down a road, looking stressed.

"Don't wanna risk it."

"That's not the reeeeaason~", she teasingly sang, watching the character on the screen taking a turn and facing a car with the obvious bad guys.

"Well, don't wanna risk Nino junior gets bad ideas, that's not risking something as well!"

She laughed and brushed over her bulging stomach, lovingly drawing circles with her thumb.

"You're a great father, Nino. Thank you.", tears welled up in her eyes and she leant her head against his shoulder, sniffling, "Heh, stupid hormones."

His hand joined hers on her stomach and he grinned down to her, then bent down to kiss away her tears.

"Just two more weeks. And then we'll have Nino junior."

She mockingly sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Anooooother boy.", she drawled, "The Lahiffe boys are so-… So-…"

"Amazing, awesome, loving, cool, caring and overall talented in sports and music?"

Alya smirked and stuck out her tongue.

"You just described Matthieu and it's only because he's still half Césaire!"

Nino throatily laughed as he quickly lowered the volume when the character on screen got shot by the bad guys after a little intimidating talk, not to wake up the kids on the end of the hall.

"You love me and you know it."

She grinned, kissing his jaw before he could look down to her again.

"And don't you forget it."

"Don't you forget it!", he shot back, interlacing their fingers on top of her stomach. He felt a light kick against Alya's palm, only because their fingers were linked together so closely, and chuckled.

"Jérôme doesn't forget it as well.", she smiled.

"Hey, when did we decide on that name?", he mockingly poked her shoulder and she poked right back.

"A month ago, in bed, you were sleepy and I decided."

He theatrically rolled his eyes and slumped against the backrest, causing her to fall a bit more onto his chest since her shoulder lost its grip on his armpit.

"Of course you decide over my sleepy head, woman!"

"Don't you woman me, Mister. You agreed!"

He chuckled at her pout and quickly kissed her, sitting a little more upright again so she could relax against him, still keeping his hand on her stomach. His other hand snuck around her back and he hugged her around her middle, his hand joining their already intertwined fingers.

"And I love the name, don't worry. Jérôme sounds cool."

They settled a bit again before the light fall of footsteps let them listen up. Moments later, Élodie appeared in the doorframe, rubbing her eyes and sniffling.

"Maman I can't sleep…", she mumbled but before Alya could get up Nino gently held her back and got up instead, helping her adjust to sit comfortable without him before stepping to his daughter and kneeling down, leaving it to Alya to mute the crime movie on TV.

"Hey pumpkin, want a warm milk with honey?"

Élodie nodded and he scooped her up, carrying her to the kitchen to prepare a mug with milk to put it in the microwave and got out the honey jar to take spoonful. When the microwave beeped he got the mug out and put the spoon inside, taking her hand with his free one and leading her back to the living room. He set the mug down on the coffee table and lifted Élodie up to sit with Alya who had put on a documentary about some Scandinavian land, still muted, to not scare the toddler.

Nino then handed Élodie the mug, keeping his hand on it to save them from a mess and left it to the little girl to spin the spoon. They comfortably snuggled together, Nino and Alya to the sides of their child and his hand around them both ending up on her stomach again.

They watched the documentary in silence while Élodie finished her milk, then Nino set the mug down and pressed a kiss to her head.

"C'mon pumpkin, time for bed."

She stubbornly shook her head and leant against Alya.

"I wanna listen to Maman's baby!"

He chuckled and shrugged.

"Five more minutes, then you'll go to bed. Deal?"

The toddler nodded and eagerly sat up to press her ear to Alya's stomach. Unfortunately, she had been a little too eager and Alya huffed but shot Nino a warning glance, signaling him that it was fine. He merely placed a hand on Élodie's back, then leant over and placed his ear on his wife's stomach as well, his face turned towards his daughter. They could hear the baby moving around and Nino grinned.

"Awesome, huh?"

Élodie nodded, completely concentrated on listening to the baby and jumping back a little when a little bump appeared next to her head, probably a tiny foot.

"And that's my baby brother?", she asked incredulously, putting her ear back on the stomach. Alya lightly chuckled at her husband and her daughter leaning against her, brushing through Élodie's fluffy hair that she had inherited from her.

"Yep, that's your baby brother.", she waited for another moment before throwing a glance to her wrist watch and playfully gasping, "Élodie, it's already so late! You gotta go to bed now, that was more than five minutes."

The toddler leant back and nodded, turning to her Papa who lifted her up.

"Say good night to your Maman, pumpkin."

"… 'Night, Maman.", she mumbled, already rubbing her eyes again. Nino leant down to let Alya give her goodnight kiss before carrying her back to her bed and laying her down.

"Good night, Élodie. Sleep well.", he whispered, giving her a kiss as well. She quickly wound her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as the awkward position allowed her.

"I love you, Papa."

He felt his heart hitching and smiled, hugging her back before softly lowering her back down to her mattress again.

"I love you, too, pumpkin. Good night."

He walked over to the door and looked back, turning off the light.

"… 'Night, Papa."

Nino nodded and closed the door until it was ajar and left to look after Matthieu. His little boy already deeply slept, preparing for another exciting day tomorrow.

"Good night, Matthieu.", he whispered into the dark room, before returning to Alya again. When he got back he leant against the doorframe, grinning at his wife who laid slumped against the backrest, the documentary still quietly playing. Her glasses were tilted because of the awkward position her head was in and one of her hands still rested over her stomach, sometimes twitching when it slid down but mostly staying still. He chuckled and shook his head, walking over to her and brushing over her cheek. He knew she didn't like it when he lifted her up and woke her with that so he woke her before.

"Alya… Alya, angel, you gotta go to bed."

She sniffled and opened bleary eyes, nodding slowly when she woke up a little more again. Her arms locked around his neck and he lifted her up bridal style, not able to suppress a little groan at how heavy she had gotten. He wasn't exactly unfit, having two little, active children and going on a run once a week ensured that, but he was no Adrien either. Though, instead of contorting his face he leant back and began his walk to the bedroom, grinning a little strained.

"You got a little heavy."

"You shut your mouth, you know exactly why…", she mumbled, too sleepy to smack his arm so instead he felt her fingers tapping against his neck. He laughed as he set her down on the bed, thankful for their relatively high mattress.

"Never said anything else. Besides, you're perfect. Was never meant as an insult."

She huffed sleepily, curling up on her side and making grabby hands for the blanket.

"Mmmh… 'Ts all Jérôme. He's the heavy one."

Nino suppressed a chuckle and nodded, spreading the blanket over her before getting in his pajamas and following her to bed and hugging her from behind.

"Of course, it's all Jérôme.", he hummed, burying his nose in her fluffy hair and letting his hand roam over her stomach, "It's all that little, three kilo heavy baby."

A few moments passed and he waited for a snippy answer but her deep breaths told him she had already fallen asleep again so he grinned and closed his eyes as well, his hand on her stomach stilling.

"… Sleep well, beautiful…"


	8. Day 7: Nino at Night

Kinda an AU where the friends haven't met yet. So that's the first encounter for them!

* * *

Sweat rolled down Nino's back as he jumped, ripping one of his hands into the air while the other stayed on his mixing board. He quickly turned the bass down completely and the tremble to medium so that the crowd could sing the refrain along with him, then he let the bass drop hit them with full force, causing a few shrieks but mostly let the people explode in cheers.

He grinned as he stopped jumping again and brought his hand down to his headphones which loosely hung around his neck, bringing one of the earpieces up to his ear to adjust the music accordingly again.

When he had done that he selected the next song, nodding at his choice. The crowd would love him for that. Hopefully the cute girl on the bar as well…

He eyed over to her, his shoulders lightly slumping as she merely nodded along with the beat, the drink in her hand looking forgotten and her eyes far away. He just couldn't get her to do more, no matter what he put on.

With a few quick swipes and the knowledge of when to lower the volume on tremble so that the other song could overtake the stage without a problem he managed a smooth transition, immediately getting the crowd to cheer again as soon as they recognized the song.

The bass woofers let the ground tremble and Nino grinned widely, quickly shrugging off his stylish college jacket since it was so hot in here, around all the sweating people and the technology. He pulled his shirt down and got back to adjusting the volume of the various heights and bass lines, creating a mix for the crowd to dance to.

He chuckled and turned down completely for the familiar refrain, singing along with the crowd before letting the tremble set in again, still singing before the bass joined again, making the people cheer again.

Nino showed them a thumb up before selecting his next song, setting it to play after that one to continue his lucky streak.

Once in a while allowing himself to glance over to the girl on the bar, wishing she'd at least look back at him.

* * *

After his performance he stumbled from the podium, high-fiving a few people and even getting kisses on the cheek from a few girls but his eyes were fixed on the girl at the bar, leaning against the counter.

He casually stepped next to her, ordering a simple coke which the bartender scrambled to bring him. DJ Sickbeatz was, after all, the best DJ the club had.

Nino glanced over to her, his heart hitching at his luck when her drink almost slipped from her hand. He quickly reached out, cupping her hand with hers and smiled when her gaze snapped out of the worlds where she had been stuck the entire evening already, meeting his. His smile turned sincere and chaste after realizing she looked genuinely surprised.

"You almost dropped your drink.", he helpfully (not) prompted, guiding her hand to set her glass down on the counter, causing her to turn towards him.

"Uh-… Yeah… Thanks…", she nodded at him before fixing her gaze on the bottles behind the bar, obviously not reading the names.

He softly nudged her shoulder with his, not wanting to surprise her but wanting to earn her attention again.

"You seem absent, you okay?", he asked which brought him a brief shrug.

"Yeah, I'm fine.", she said, apparently not wanting to talk to him. But now he had gotten curious, giving her a minute or two before trying to speak up again.

"Uuuh… You here alone? Or-… Well, why are you here if you're not enjoying the evening?"

She rolled her eyes, downing her drink with a gulp and turning to him again.

"Listen, _DJ_ , you're not getting to know me. I wanted to clear my head but obviously I can't even do that at a place with literally ever possible distraction. Now leave me alone, idiot."

With that she turned, heading for the exit. He quickly shouldered his jacket, taking a sip from his freshly arrived coke before flinging two euros to the bartender and following the girl.

It wasn't that he still wanted to try and talk to her. Or to follow her, no, he wasn't a stalker or some creep. He didn't even want something from her, even if she was rather beautiful. He just wanted to make sure she was safe since the streets of Paris weren't the nicest place, especially not at night.

She pushed open the door, and stepped out into the night, Nino quickly following her.

"Hey, wait!"

She jumped and turned to him, her brown-reddish locks swirling around her head as she turned.

"You again?! Are you-…", she suddenly shivered, her eyes turning searching. For accomplices?

"Are you trying to rob me? O-Or rape me?", she quickly reached in her purse and pulled out something that suspiciously looked like pepper spray, "'Cuz I'm warning you, I'll use this and call the police!"

"U-Uh-…", he gulped, unsure of her sudden stance of defense, "No! Of course not, I just-… I wanted to check if you were taking a cab. Or, well, if you had someone to walk you home?"

She lowered her arms, still skeptical but becoming irritated at his sincere tone and the fact that he didn't try to take another step towards her even when she still retreated.

"Don't you dare think you could do that.", she snapped and lifted her arms higher again as he reached back. He pulled out his phone and she narrowed her eyes, "What're you doing?"

"You're obviously alone.", he shrugged, typing in the number he knew very well from transporting off drunks, "I'm calling you a cab, ride's on me."

"Wh-What?!"

He rolled his eyes, slowly getting a little annoyed at her overcautious antics. Not every human was a rapist, after all.

"I'm paying you a ride home. You were planning on walking alone. There's a reason you packed the pepper spray.", he got back his laid-back attitude with a smirk, even feeling like teasing her a bit, "Not with me, beautiful, you're gonna get home in a car."

She pressed her lips together and furrowed her eyebrows but packed away her pepper spray. However, Nino noticed her hand stayed inside her purse, probably still clenched around the little can.

"What did you just call me?", she asked, one eyebrow shooting up.

"Uh, beautiful. 'Cuz you are.", it may have sounded chilled out and suave but he was beginning to blush. Before she could reply the call got accepted and he talked with the call center before hanging up again.

"The cab's gonna be here in ten minutes. If you want I can give you the money and stay back I gotta return into the club anyway. Gotta work late."

She pulled her hand out of her purse and even gave him a small smile.

"Thanks-… I guess… Sorry for my outburst."

He shrugged it off, shaking his head.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Though I am curious, how come you're so easily scared?"

She huffed, stepping closer to him again not to have to yell too much.

"Not scared. Just cautious."

He silently studied her face and nodded, smiling.

"Cautious, then."

They remained in silence for a few minutes until she spoke up again, wrapping her arms around herself.

"My-… My ex was-… Not the nicest man. We broke up a month ago but he's been following me so I went to court and got the judge to forbid him that for a big fine. I-… I guess I'm still a bit-… Jumpy when it gets to men following me."

Nino looked down and nodded, burying his hands in his jeans.

"Oh, okay… Sorry, I didn't know…", she shivered and he pulled his jacket off his shoulder, opening it and offering it to her, "Here, you must feel cold."

She furrowed her eyebrows but stepped closer regardless, already reaching for it but he lifted it higher, motioning it to let him place it around her shoulders.

She only gave him a little turn so he had to step closer but in the end she smiled as he pulled his hands back. Suddenly he realized what kind of a man her boyfriend must've been so he took another step back, biting his lip.

"Thanks…", her soft voice finally sounded through the night air and he sent her a quick smile. After a few more moments he faced her again, tilting his head.

"Though-… If it's been like that, why are you out? And in a club, of all places?"

She sighed, fiddling with the sleeves of the jacket that hung off her shoulders like a tent.

"Well, I can't live in fear forever. Especially with that fine for him. And-… I kinda tried getting distracted. You know, loud music, alcohol, et cetera. Didn't really work, huh?"

He snorted and shook his head.

"Nah, not really."

She breathed through as the cab pulled up, already reaching for her purse underneath the jacket but he stepped to the passenger's door of the car and opened it, pulling out his own wallet.

"I'll pay for you. C'mon, get in."

She gasped, quickly trying to interject but he waved for her to get in and smiled.

"It's cool. I never paid to get a girl home, wanna do that at least once."

She lifted her eyebrow as she sat down on the car seat, smirking a little.

"So now I'm an opportunity for you to check something off your to-do-list?"

He chuckled and closed the door behind her, shaking his head and propping himself up on the frame of the opened window.

"No, I wouldn't have done it for someone else."

"Listen, about the cab, you really don't have t-"

He quickly interrupted her, a grin playing around his lips.

"A ride for a name. Gotta get that jacket back, after all."

She giggled and accepted his twenty euros that he handed her, taking a moment to let her gaze wander over his face before replying.

"Alya.", she said and he melted, "Alya Césaire. Nice to meet you, DJ."

He jokingly pouted as he took her offered hand through the open car window.

"Don't you wanna know my name?"

She winked and shook her head as she let go of his hand again.

"I'm not paying you a ride. Thanks for the jacket!"

He blushed and stepped away from the car as the cab driver started driving again but he congratulated himself for slipping a note with his name and number into the pocket of his jacket even before the evening had begun, as a precaution.

* * *

Alya buried her hand in the pockets of the college jacket with a smile as she suddenly felt something crumble underneath her fingers. She pulled it out and smiled at the name that was illuminated by passing street lanterns once and again.

Nino, then.

The DJ's name is Nino.

She grinned and put the paper back, having a good feeling about him. He seemed nice. Even if it would take a while for her to open up to him.

She pulled the jacket tighter around herself and breathed in his scent, closing her eyes.

Well, she had the chance to do so when she'd give him back the jacket.


End file.
